Introduction
HOME, Inc. presents an important non-profit organization that claims to support media literacy and artistic expression in Boston. The previous assignments related to the utilization of archival resources have demonstrated the recognition of the organization’s previous endeavors by local news media reviewing Boston’s cultural life. This paper is aimed at listing the remaining things to learn and discussing the potential of historical research in exploring HOME, Inc.’s past and present.
HOME, Inc.: Key Aspects of Interest
My current greatest interests include the full scope of HOME’s activities since its first days of operation and the history of its cooperation with Boston’s artistic community, including the resulting arts projects. To start with, the available sources about the organization, including both archived news articles and notes on the official website, provide rather fragmented information about HOME’s past prominent projects and collaboration with other non-profit organizations in the area (HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association, n.d.). Next, although the organization mentions its participation as an organizer of art exhibitions and the provider of artist-in-residence services, the chronology of relevant projects and achievements in this area is hard to be established only from publicly accessible sources (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.). Based on personal interviews with Alan Michel, HOME’s programs peculiar to youth media production, such as Teen TV, gained much more media coverage compared to its strategies to support Boston’s citizens of creative professions (Consortium for Media Literacy, 2014). Addressing these gaps could shed light on HOME’s role in promoting Boston’s urban culture.
New Information to Learn
New information that I am hoping to learn is closely linked to the aforementioned areas of interest. To develop a holistic understanding of HOME’s scope of activities, I would use interview questions that center on the evolution of the organization’s current mission and the COVID-19 pandemic’s influences on HOME’s practices in delivering media teaching services and opportunities for residency candidates. Some information that I would like to learn to reveal the full picture of HOME’s role as an arts incubator includes the history and recent changes to HOME’s artist-in-residence program and examples and the uses of the resulting artworks. Finally, responses from HOME’s representatives regarding the types of media aside from video art that are of interest to the organization within the frame of the residence agreements would be helpful.
HOME, Inc., Neighborhood and Community
Regarding HOME’s relationship to the neighborhood and community where it is headquartered in, it would be essential to gain primary source information peculiar to the organization’s activities in the South End neighborhood and partnerships with other non-profit service providers in the past and nowadays. The official website offers rather generic data on HOME’s interprofessional collaboration with Boston Public Schools to serve the neighborhood and the city’s youth (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.). For instance, the operation of media labs in partners’ facilities and requirements for volunteer coordinators are not covered in a profound way, which can create knowledge deficiencies. These gaps are planned to be addressed due to interview questions focusing on the CEO’s perspective on HOME’s essential partnerships and contributions to the neighborhood’s cultural development.
Applicable Research Methods
Being aimed at establishing links between past and present events, qualitative historical research could be the research approach that would support the exploration of the topics of interest in the most profound way. Historical research may involve a vast array of methods, including archival research and oral history studies or the documentation and analysis of first-person accounts of particular events (Padilha et al., 2017). Both methods could be helpful in delving into the history of HOME’s past projects and establishing the overall role of Boston’s artists in fulfilling the organization’s mission. Firstly, the use of archival resources, such as East Boston Community News and Gay Community News, and online search would facilitate the analysis of media mentions peculiar to HOME, thus shedding light on whether the organization’s work with artists was among its well-recognized contributions to the neighborhood’s life. Secondly, recorded personal interviews with Alan Michel, who has been leading HOME since its establishment, would allow placing the disjointed pieces of information regarding HOME’s past and current work with artists in their historical context. Therefore, historical research methods could be helpful during further data collection activities.
Final Product and Research Question Discussion
The type of final product that I would like to produce is a historical analysis essay answering a research question linked with HOME’s history as an arts organization. The essay will develop an argument regarding the role of efforts to support local artists’ creative activities in HOME’s scope of activities and historical changes surrounding this role. The argument will be rooted in both media sources of the past years and a personal semi-structured interview with Alan Michel. The overarching research question that could form the basis of further exploratory work is as follows: What role does collaboration with Boston’s artists play in HOME’s activities and mission, and how has it changed over time? With this research question, the product’s main purpose will be to increase young artists’ awareness of HOME’s past and current contributions to support artistic self-expression and the exploration of social themes and issues with the help of various art media.
Conclusion
Finally, information about HOME, Inc. from official sources lacks specificity and an appropriate chronological organization. It creates a series of knowledge gaps peculiar to the organization’s history and the outcomes of HOME’s collaboration with artists. Historical research, including the analysis of archival sources and oral first-person accounts of essential events poorly covered in the media, could be helpful in creating a final paper that would improve deficient knowledge.
References
Consortium for Media Literacy. (2014). Research highlights. Connections – MediaLit Moments, 57, 4. Web.
HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association. (n.d.). HOME’s history. Web.
Padilha, M. I., Bellaguarda, M. L. R., Nelson, S., Maia, A. R. C., & Costa, R. (2017). The use of sources in historical research.Texto & Contexto Enfermagem, 26(4), 1-10. Web.